Conventionally, in an apparatus that performs authentication of banknotes, there has been known an apparatus that stores serial numbers of counterfeit notes such as duplicate notes and forged notes in a memory, to compare and match a serial number read from a taken-in banknote with serial numbers of counterfeit notes stored in the memory, and when the serial number of the taken-in banknote coincides with a serial number of a counterfeit note, judges that the taken-in banknote is a counterfeit note (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Further, to increase the detection accuracy of counterfeit notes, judgment of the length, magnetic pattern, and image pattern of the banknote is also performed as well as the serial number, and when it is judged that the banknote is genuine in all judgment processes, the taken-in banknote is judged to be genuine and valid.
Furthermore, conventionally, with respect to a system in which automatic teller machines of a banking facility are connected to a host computer, there has been proposed a technique in which each of the automatic teller machines records a serial number of a deposited or dispensed banknote in association with an account number of a person who deposits or withdraws money, and the host computer reads information recorded by the automatic teller machine to perform various types of analyses such as a circulation analysis of banknotes and extraction of stolen banknotes (see, for example, Patent Document 2).    Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. H8-7151    Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. H4-131986